World number 28 Casper Ruud will be up against American Tommy Paul in the second round of the 2021 Australian Open on Thursday, February 11, with the match likely to begin at around 11 am local time (12 noon BST or 7 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Casper Ruud v Tommy Paul match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Casper Ruud v Tommy Paul Head to Head
There have been two previous matches between these two and both have won one apiece. The first match came at the 2017 Washington Open where Paul was leading in the third set when his opponent retired from the match.
This was followed by the second outing at the French Open last year where Ruud edged out in a five-set second round outing.
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Ruud Eases Past Jordan
Having gone down fighting in his only match in the lead-up to the Australian Open – in Melbourne last week – the clay-court specialist Ruud had question-marks over his form heading into his opener against Jordan Thompson.
Especially given Thompson himself had made it through to the quarterfinals at the Great Ocean Road Open after winning three rounds.
However, fitness issues for the Aussie meant he was never at a 100% in the encounter and by the time he was two sets and 2-1 down in the third, Jordan opted to retire from the encounter.
What that means is that Ruud, whose best performance at the Australian Open is the lone second round appearance at the 2018 edition, gets another chance to advance further and record a second successive win here for the first time in his career.
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Paul Hoping to Avoid Fourth Successive Second Round Loss
It’s been the kind of a start for Paul, when, following on from his second round loss at the Paris Masters late last season, he fell in the second round at the Delray Beach Open and then again at the same stage in Melbourne last week.
Which is why when he takes to court for this second round match against Ruud, he will hope to avoid the ignominy of losing in the second match of tournaments again.
In the first round here, Paul was at his clinical best, defeating the former world number 16 Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 7-6, 6-4 to advance into round two, needing just two hours and 14 minutes to get there.
In each of the first two sets of that encounter, Paul was a break down – including twice in the first set – but came back to win it before drawing first blood in the third set to complete an easy win.
Ruud v Paul Prediction and Tip
Ruud’s the favourite here, but only just at 8/11. Paul’s performances on hard court surfaces, however, should give him bit of a chance and we could look at the American edging out the favourite here and breaking his second round spell.
Tip: Paul to win: 1/1 (bet365)
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The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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